Taenia saginata

The life cycle of the beef tapeworm is a bit complicated and
has some essential steps to complete its cycle.

1.The adult releases gravid segments (proglottids filled
with eggs) that are carried away by the digestive tract and released into the
environment through the feces.

2.The
proglottid segments are ingested by the cattle through the contaminated
vegetation and then the proglottids enter the digestive tract of its
intermediate host. The enzymes and acids
found in the gastrointestinal tract break down the protective barrier of
the proglottid and release up to 100,000 eggs into the bovines system.

3.The eggs develop into
oncosphere covered larvae that
break through the intestine epithelium and travel through the circulation of the
bovine.Then the larvae end up in
the muscle tissue and the oncosphere fills with fluid and become a cysticercus.

4.To finish complex life cycle, the
undercooked beef meat must be eaten by a human
(definitive host) and then will enter the digestive
system.Digestive enzymes break
down the cysticercus and the larval cyst is released and the inverted
scolex is
able to come out and attach to the host’s intestine.Taenia saginata is then able to grow, and within three months
it can reach 5 meters long. At this point of maturity,
the tapeworm is then able to release proglottids to restart is life
cycle.

Now that you know
the complicated life cycle, take a look at the medical condition and problems
that the infection this parasite causes, Taeniasis!